An endoscope is a medical device comprising a flexible tube and a camera mounted on the distal end of the tube. The endoscope is insertable into an internal body cavity through a body orifice to examine the body cavity and tissues for diagnosis. The tube of the endoscope has one or more longitudinal channels, through which an instrument can reach the body cavity to take samples of suspicious tissues or to perform other surgical procedures such as polypectomy.
There are many types of endoscopes, and they are named in relation to the organs or areas with which they are used. For example, gastroscopes are used for examination and treatment of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum; colonoscopes for the colon; bronchoscopes for the bronchi; laparoscopes for the peritoneal cavity; sigmoidoscopes for the rectum and the sigmoid colon; arthroscopes for joints; cystoscopes for the urinary bladder; and angioscopes for the examination of blood vessels.
Each endoscope has a single forward viewing camera mounted at the distal end of the endoscope to transmit an image to an eyepiece or video camera at the proximal end. The camera is used to assist a medical professional in advancing the endoscope into a body cavity and looking for abnormalities. The camera provides the medical professional with a two-dimensional view from the distal end of the endoscope. To capture an image from a different angle or in a different portion, the endoscope must be repositioned or moved back and forth. Repositioning and movement of the endoscope prolongs the procedure and causes added discomfort, complications, and risks to the patient. Additionally, in an environment similar to the lower gastro-intestinal tract, flexures, tissue folds and unusual geometries of the organ may prevent the endoscope's camera from viewing all areas of the organ. The unseen area may cause a potentially malignant (cancerous) polyp to be missed.
This problem can be overcome by providing an auxiliary camera, which presents an image of the areas not viewable by the endoscope's main camera. The auxiliary camera can be oriented backwards to face the main camera. This arrangement of cameras can provide both front and rear views of an area or an abnormality. In the case of polypectomy where a polyp is excised by placing a wire loop around the base of the polyp, the camera arrangement allows better placement of the wire loop to minimize damage to the adjacent healthy tissue.
Unfortunately, most of the endoscopes currently in use do not have such an auxiliary camera. To replace these existing endoscopes with new endoscopes with auxiliary cameras is expensive. Therefore, it is desirable to provide the existing endoscopes with retrofit auxiliary cameras. Additionally, to avoid the costs of modifying existing endoscopes, it is desirable to provide retrofit auxiliary cameras that do not require significant modification of the existing endoscopes.
Although a channel of an endoscope can be used to accommodate an auxiliary camera that does not require modification of the endoscope, the loss of a channel may impair the endoscope's ability to perform all of its designed functions. Thus the ability of the retrofit auxiliary camera to function without using an endoscope channel is desirable.